W-B Area’s Dunn agrees to plead guilty

SCRANTON – Wilkes-Barre Area School Director Brian Dunn on Monday agreed to plead guilty to accepting a $5,000 bribe for influencing the hiring of a teacher, ending months of speculation regarding the status of his case and his position on the school board.

The plea deal comes six months after Dunn, 45, of Wilkes-Barre, was first charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. That complaint, filed on April 21, charged Dunn with bribery for allegedly accepting tens of thousands of dollars in exchange for his influence in the awarding of contracts and the hiring of teachers.

Under the plea agreement Dunn will plead guilty to one count of corrupt receipt of a reward for official action related to the hiring of a single teacher. The document does not identify the teacher, but says Dunn committed the offense between Jan. 1, 2005, and Oct. 1, 2005.

The plea deal also requires Dunn, who was elected to the board in 1997, to resign within 10 days of the acceptance of the plea. His continued presence on the board had been controversial because he has not attended a meeting since the initial charges were filed.

Superintendent Jeff Namey said Dunn had not submitted his resignation as of late Monday afternoon.

Dunn is among six area school officials, including two others from the Wilkes-Barre Area School District, to be charged in connection with the ongoing Luzerne County corruption probe.

The new complaint says Dunn supported a prospective teacher for hiring. After the teacher got the job, a relative of the teacher paid Dunn $5,000 in cash.

The complaint comes five weeks after fellow board member Frank Pizzella was indicted by a grand jury on a charge of passing on a $5,000 bribe to a school board member to secure a job for a teaching candidate. The indictment did not name the teacher or the person who provided the bribe.

Pizzella, who is scheduled to be arraigned on the charge Nov. 13, has not yet entered a plea. He remains on the school board.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office has declined to comment on whether the Dunn and Pizzella cases are connected. The timing of the alleged offenses seems to indicate they may not be related.

In the Pizzella case, the conspiracy is alleged to have taken place between Jan. 2, 2004, and Dec. 2, 2004, whereas Dunn’s crime was committed in 2005.

In addition, prosecutors say a “relative” of the teacher passed the bribe on to Dunn. In Pizzella’s case, it’s alleged he accepted the money from the father-in-law of the teaching candidate and then passed it on to the unidentified board member.

Dunn’s attorney, Scott Griffith of Philadelphia, did not return a phone message Monday. Pizzella’s attorney, Joseph Blazosek of Pittston, also did not return a phone message.

Dunn is the second Wilkes-Barre Area board member to reach a plea deal with prosecutors. On May 29, James Height agreed to plead guilty to accepting a bribe in exchange for influencing the awarding of a contract.

Height was scheduled to be sentenced on Thursday. U.S. District Judge Thomas Vanaskie on Monday granted a motion to continue his sentencing to Jan. 26 so that he can continue to cooperate with federal authorities investigating others.

In Dunn’s case, federal sentencing guidelines call for Dunn to receive a sentence of 21 to 27 months, which is nine months longer than sentencing guidelines for two other defendants who have agreed to plead guilty to similar crimes.

The guidelines in the case of Height and Joseph Oliveri, a Pittston Area school director who admitted accepting a bribe, call for a sentence of 12 to 18 months.

The key difference in Dunn’s case is that he received a 4-level enhancement because his crime involved more than one gratuity and the value was at least $5,000, but less than $10,000. The other defendants did not have those enhancements.

Dunn’s plea deal also does not call for him to continue to cooperate with federal agents. Height and Oliveri have agreed to do so. Prosecutors have agreed to recommend a sentence below the guideline range if the men provide “substantial assistance” in other cases.

The guidelines are not binding on the judge who hears the cases, which means all three defendants could be sentenced to up 10 years in prison, the maximum sentence for the offenses.

Terrie Morgan-Besecker, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 570-829-7179.

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